Tradition
by klutzysunshine
Summary: Future fic. Sue and Sean love Christmas more now that it's their anniversary. Celebrating with their children makes the holiday even more special.


**I don't own The Middle nor will I ever. No copyright infringement intended.**

* * *

Sue and Sean had been looking forward to this Christmas as soon as it truly hit them that they were having a baby. And now that Violet was finally here, they couldn't wait to enjoy the holiday with their three month old. "We're going to have so much fun celebrating," Sue cooed at her daughter.

Violet responded by kicking her feet into thin air and smiling at them. "You are the best of us," Sean murmured, grabbing one of her tiny hands. Violet latched on and wouldn't let go but that was okay with him.

Sue couldn't believe how lucky she was sometimes - happily married to the love of her life, with the perfect baby, and an amazing job. Sure, it sucked sometimes but that's when her positivity came in handy. "So, how are we going to make sure Christmas is amazing for you, Miss Violet Frances? You want to visit your grandparents and uncles?" she asked.

Violet just stared at her and continued to babble, which sent Sean into a fit of laughter. "I'm sorry, Sue. She just looked so unimpressed I couldn't help it," he explained when his wife glared at him.

She cracked up too. "I need to learn to stay mad at you for longer periods of time than this," she complained before kissing him. The baby patted her mother's face, clearly unhappy with the turn of events. Sue just shook her head. "Violet, you are so lucky you're the best because you're going to be the center of attention for a long time. And nobody's mad about that, are they?"

The three month old scrunched up her nose and started crying. "I think she wants me," Sean explained urgently as Sue checked her over to see if she needed changed. Violet had just been fed so that wasn't the problem and she only cried harder when her mother tried to soothe her. Sue handed her over and the baby immediately stopped crying.

The two of them were still learning (and sleep-deprived) but they were definitely getting the hang of parenthood.

When they put the tree up, Sean stood in front of it, holding Violet so she could look at it. "Do you see all the pretty lights?" Sue asked.

Violet looked at the ornaments in awe and reached out to touch them but Sean prevented her from doing so. "Sorry, baby, but you can't touch those. They're fragile. But when you're older, you can help us, okay, Vi?"

Sue leaned her head against her husband's shoulder and the family of three stood in front of the tree for a while, just enjoying the view and the Christmas music playing on a loop. "I can't wait for Christmas to actually get here," she murmured, excitement building.

And on Christmas Eve, before they headed over to her family's for the night, the two of them sat down on the couch while their daughter napped to relax for a minute. "Happy anniversary, Sue. The Christmas we finally admitted our feelings for each other is still one of my favorites," Sean told her. He kissed the top of her head.

She teared up. "Same here. I'll never forget the moment that both of us just decided to go for it after months - maybe years - of denial. I'm so glad we have all this now." She gestured around their living room to emphasize her point.

"I love you, Mrs. Donahue."

Sue giggled. "And I love you, Doctor Donahue."

And in the end, Violet's first Christmas went well despite a few missteps because they wouldn't be them if there wasn't some sort of fiasco on the holidays.

* * *

Six years later, the couple found they still loved Christmas but it was exhausting as hell as the parents of three children - four year old twins Poppy and Tulip added to the chaos but they controlled it as best as they could. "We need to go over to Grandma and Grandpa Heck's house! Is everybody ready?" Sean called.

"Not yet, Daddy," Violet told him as she surveyed their disaster of a living room with a look of horror on her young face. She loved her little sisters but they could be a little too much sometimes.

"No wonder my mother lost it with three kids in the house. I don't know how she managed to do it!" Sue shouted at her husband.

"She didn't have twins!" he yelled back over Poppy and Tulip's screams.

"True but we were a handful! Okay, that's it. Poppy Michaela and Tulip Nancy Donahue, stop this instant! We're leaving in twenty minutes and everybody needs to be ready. Got it?" she asked, softening her tone.

"Gots it, Mommy," Tulip answered.

"Good. How about you, Poppy?" Sue questioned.

Poppy sighed. "Me toos," she answered, clearly quite unhappy.

"You get presents from Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Axl and Aunt Lexie, and Uncle Brick tonight. But that's only if you behave," he told them. Both their eyes lit up with glee and they took off towards their bedroom.

"I'm so glad you're our good kid, Vi. Seventy percent of the time anyway," Sue told her.

"Thanks, Mommy." Violet kissed her cheek and then skipped to her bedroom.

Sue sighed, sat down on the couch, and then leaned back against it. "Remember when we thought we could handle twins?"

Sean nodded, a grin on his face. "Clearly. I also remember how panicked we were but our moms managed to calm us down. Four years later, I'm glad we had two at once despite how disastrous it can sometimes be."

"So romantic." Sue cracked open an eye and beamed at her husband.

"And hey, your parents are just glad they can give them back. They still like to make fun of us." Sean didn't mind, though - he adored Sue's family and she felt the same way about his.

"True. Happy anniversary."

"Happy anniversary, Sue," he replied before all three of their daughters descended on them. They managed to leave for Frankie and Mike's house about ten minutes later, a record for them.

"My babies!" Frankie yelled excitedly when she saw her granddaughters. She opened her arms and Violet, Poppy, and Tulip dove into them.

"Pretty," Tulip told her.

"Very pretty," Poppy amended.

"Presents?" asked a hopeful Violet.

Frankie laughed. "Not yet, sweetheart. Why don't you go find your cousins? I"m sure they're around here somewhere." Axl and Lexie's five year old son and two year old daughter were likely playing in their father's old room.

"Okay." The three girls headed off to find them.

"Giving you trouble?" Frankie asked with a smirk on her face.

"Don't you look at us like that." Sue just shook her head and went off to find a cookie.

"Nice to see you, Frankie. You look fantastic today."

"Stop hitting on my wife. I see you," Mike threatened.

"Mike!" his wife scolded.

"What? I'm just warning him." Mike winked at Sean, though, and the two men laughed before shaking hands.

"How long until dinner?" a curious - and hungry - Sean probed.

"About half an hour. Go sit down," Frankie encouraged.

"We can watch a game," Mike offered as Axl and Lexie strolled back into the living room.

They all sat down for a little while and then the whole family enjoyed a semi-chaotic but perfect dinner. Later that night, with their daughters down for the count, Sue and Sean laid out all their presents and then settled in for a little while. "Another anniversary down," she told him.

Sean kissed his wife. "And I'm looking forward to the year ahead, see what it has in store for us. Always something different."

"Definitely," she agreed. Sue pulled her husband closer to him and the two made out (and a little bit more when they got caught up in the moment) on the couch for a little while. And as for what life in store for them the next year? Sue and Sean conceived their fourth daughter, Marigold, that night (they considered her an unexpected dual Christmas and anniversary present). And she fit right in with the family but the newborn caused even more chaos for her family during the next round of holidays. Four kids drove Sue and Sean up the wall but they learned to deal with it (and pawned their daughters off on their grandparents and other family members occasionally when they needed a break). Christmas 2017 had changed so much for Sue and Sean and they were still head over heels in love with each other all these years later. Violet, Poppy, Tulip, and Marigold always knew how much their parents adored each other and them (they complained about it sometimes, though). Their family now complete, Sue and Sean couldn't ask for anything more. Life was pretty good eighty-five percent of the time (the other times, they continued to rescue each other when the other needed help and support).


End file.
